That I believe and take it."
So frank and faultless was this avowal that it confounded the artful priest, who, feeling rebuked, went away as wise as he came, if not a little wiser.
In her personal appearance Elizabeth was stately and majestic, but by no means remarkable for her beauty, or amiableness of temper. Her good judgment and discrimination enabled her to call to her aid wise men for ministers and counsellors. She patronized talent and intellect. It was during her reign that Spenser, Shakespeare, Raleigh, Bacon, and other eminent characters flourished, giving to her times and to literature the distinction of the "Elizabethan age." The leading events of her reign amply attest her capacity to grapple with emergencies in sustaining her prerogatives and in maintaining the defiant attitude of England. She loved money as well as power, and though penurious, wielded her power with decision, crushed domestic rebellion at a blow, removed her fears of Mary, Queen of Scots, by consigning her to the block, defied the power of Spain, and with the timely assistance of a providential whirlwind, sank the Spanish Armada in the depths of the sea.
Though unattractive, her charms induced sundry propositions of marriage, particularly from the King of Sweden, from the King of Spain, and from a young prince of France, twenty-five years younger than herself. For this young prince, it is said, she entertained a sincere attachment, and went so far as to place publicly on his finger a costly ring, as a pledge of their union, but being taken soon afterwards by some strange whimsicality, dismissed him, and thus gave him leisure to reflect on the vanity of human aspirations. Yet, like most artful women, she delighted in flirtations, and always retained in her retinue a few special favorites, among whom were the Earls of Leicester and of Essex. On these men she bestowed official positions of high rank, and evidently desired to make great men of them; but Leicester proved to be deficient in brains, and Essex turned traitor, and was finally executed.
When advised to marry by her counsellors, she replied that she could not indulge such a thought for a moment, for she had resolved that the inscription on her tombstone should be:
"Here lies a queen who lived and died a virgin."
In her seventieth year she died of grief, it is said, for having signed the death-warrant of Essex, for whom she entertained a sincere yet "untold love."
The events of her reign wrought great changes in the destinies of nations. By her firm adherence to the Protestant faith, she contributed much towards enlarging and strengthening the foundations of civil and religious liberty. She succeeded by her wisdom and diplomacy in circumventing the subtle machinations of rival powers. In few words, it may be said of her that she was a noble specimen of manly womanhood.
Catherine I., Empress of Russia, was born of obscure parents, near the close of the seventeenth century. In girlhood she was known by the name of Martha, until she embraced the Greek religion, when her name was changed to Catherine. Her father died when she was but three years old, and left her to the care of an invalid mother in reduced circumstances. When old enough to be useful, Catherine devoted her services to the care and support of her mother, and in attaining to womanhood, grew to be exceedingly beautiful. Her mother had instructed her in the rudiments of a common education, which she afterwards perfected under the tuition of a neighboring clergyman. Among other accomplishments, Catherine acquired a knowledge of music and dancing, and soon became as attractive for her elegance of manners as she was celebrated for her beauty.